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Duke Energy (DUK) Increases Despite Market Slip: Here's What You Need to Know

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The most recent trading session ended with Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) standing at $97.81, reflecting a +0.79% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.57%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.07%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.64%.

The electric utility's stock has climbed by 4.65% in the past month, exceeding the Utilities sector's gain of 1.01% and the S&P 500's gain of 4%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Duke Energy in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.55, reflecting a 39.64% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $7.55 billion, indicating a 2.7% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Duke Energy. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.09% lower. Currently, Duke Energy is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Duke Energy has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.28 right now. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 14.82.

Meanwhile, DUK's PEG ratio is currently 2.57. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Utility - Electric Power industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.67 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 68, placing it within the top 27% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow DUK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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